READ THIS CAFEFULLY PEOPLE...

USE A MASTERLINK....it is included for a reason

When you get a new chain, cut it to the right length, by removing a single pin with the chaintool, then install the masterlink. You should never remove a pin, then drive it back in...that can damage (crack, bend, distort) the side plate, increasing the liklehood of catastrophic failure. You may not see the damage, but that does not mean there is no damage.

THATS WHY CHAINS COME WITH A MASTERLINK. THE MASTER LINK IS AS STRONG AS ANY OTHER LINK UNDER TENSION.


Don't take advice from BMXers. First of all, most of them are as ill informed as many of the fg/ss folks out there and just repeat crap that they hear. Furthermore, whats good in BMX is not necessarily good for other cycling. BMXers probably avoid master links because of BMX antics such as chain grinds, which exert lateral forces on the chain, which the master-link is not intended to withstand. Unless you are grinding your DT, the master link will not fail. I've used every kind of masterlink made, and not one has ever failed....never...not in 35,000+ miles, even with the cheapest chains money can buy.